Full text of "Back to Prabhupada, No. 30, Winter 2010-11"

See other formats

The magazine of the real Hare Krishna movement 

issue 30, winter 201 o/i i "Defeating tyranny in the realm of thought" www.iskconirm.com 




Page 2 • Issue 30* Winter 201 0/11 Back To Prabhupada 



Guru hoax: Finishes everything 




Published quarterly 

Founded under the inspiration of 
His Divine Grace A.C. 
Bhaktivedanta Swami 
Prabhupada, Founder-zAcarya, 
International Society for Krishna 
Consciousness (ISKCON) 

Editor: Krishnakant 



Changing address? Don't 
miss out on your free 
subscription to BTP! Contact 
us as below. 



For more information, and 
letters to the editor, please 
write to: 

Back to Prabhupada 
PO Box 1056, BUSHEY 
GREAT BRITAIN, WD23 3XH 

or email: 

irm@iskconirm.com 
website: 

www.iskconirm.com 



Contents Page 


Letters to the editor 


3 


Quotes, Notes and News 


5 


The real pa ram para 


6 


One foot in the parampara 


7 


Coming to Prabhupada: 




From Belgrade to BTP 




by Dina-vatsala Das 


8 


Srila Prabhupada speaks out 




on philanthropy 


10 


Readers' questions and 




challenges 


11 


ISKCON's new mission 


12 


Guru hoax survival plan 


14 


3 strikes and you're out! 


15 


ISKCON's bogus sannyasis 


16 



Welcome to Issue 30 of Back To 
Prabhupada (BTP). 
In our previous issue, in the ar- 
ticle "How the guru hoax works", 
we highlighted how the guru 
hoax has been manufactured via 
the simple interchanging of dik- 
sha (initiating) and siksha (in- 
structing) guru labels between 
Srila Prabhupada and a guru hoax- 
er. However, this does not mean 
that the guru hoax is simply an is- 
sue over semantics and empha- 
sis. Rather, as we explain below, 
the guru hoax simply uses differ- 
ent labels as a cover to perpetrate 
power-grabs in Srila Prabhupada's 
name, which ensures that one's 
spiritual life is finished right at the 
start. 

1 ) Interchanging labels on Srila 
Prabhupada's position, so that he 
is now called only the primary sik- 
sha guru rather than both diksha 
guru and primary siksha guru, is 
done to usurp Srila Prabhupada's 
supreme position by creating a 
position for oneself as diksha guru. 
Additionally, this act also means 
that one is promoting the con- 
taminated conception that Srila 
Prabhupada is incapable of deliv- 
ering a person back to Godhead 
without the absolute necessity of 
the agency of a GBC-authorised 
diksha guru. Further, as we dem- 
onstrate on pages 12-13 of this is- 
sue, rejecting Srila Prabhupada as 
diksha guru has also been accom- 
panied by a wholesale rejection of 
Srila Prabhupada's teachings, lead- 
ing to deviation in every sphere. 

2) Alternatively, the cor- 
rect label can be applied to Srila 
Prabhupada as ISKCON's diksha 
guru as an excuse to capture pow- 
er and properties and/or justifica- 
tion to continue similar deviant 
agendas and projects. This, as we 
explained in the editorial of BTP 1 9, 
is another type of guru hoax, called 
"The Great Guru Hoax, Part 3". 

Thus, since the guru hoax 
involves deviating from Srila 
Prabhupada's orders, one is in any 



case unqualified to act as a siksha 
guru: 

"Then so siksa and diksa-gu- 
ru... A siksa-guru who instructs 
against the instruction of spirit- 
ual, he is not a siksa guru. He is 
a demon. Siksa-guru, diksa-gu- 
ru means... Sometimes a dik- 
sa-guru is not present always. 
Therefore one can take learning, 
instruction, from an advanced 
devotee. That is called the sik- 
sa-guru. Siksa-guru does not 
mean he is speaking something 
against the teachings of the dik- 
sa-guru. He is not a siksa-guru. 
He is a rascal. [...] If one is diso- 
beying the spiritual master, he 
cannot remain in the pure status 
of life. He cannot be siksa-guru 
or anything else. He is finished, 
immediately. " 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 4/7/1974) 

Hence, though the correct la- 
bels should be used, otherwise 
this would be yet another devia- 
tion from Srila Prabhupada's or- 
ders, simply adopting them does 
not alone fix the guru hoax. 

Therefore, regardless of the 
labels used, both types of hoax- 
es involve simply using Srila 
Prabhupada's name to further 
one's own desires, rather than 
those of Srila Prabhupada. This 
means that these guru hoaxes 
ensure that one does not actual- 
ly accept, obey and please Srila 
Prabhupada, which are all required 
in order to practise Krishna con- 
sciousness: 

"As stated by Sri Caitanya 
Mahaprabhu, guru-krsna-pras- 
ade paya bhakti-lata-bija: by the 
mercy of Krsna and guru, one 
can get the seed of devotional 
service." 
(Srimad-Bhagmatam, 5:14:39, purport) 

"Guror avajna. First offense 
is guror avajna, defying the au- 
thority of guru. This is the first 
offense. So one who is offensive, 
how he can make advance in 
chanting? He cannot make. Then 
everything is finished in the be- 



ginning . [...] The first offense is 
to disobey the orders of guru. 
That is first offense. So if you are 
offensive, how you can become 
advanced by chanting? That is 
also not possible." 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 4/7/1974) 

"Lord Brahma wanted to 
point out to the demigods that 
by the strength of the guru 
one can become most power- 
ful within this world, and by 
the displeasure of the guru 
one can lose everything. This 
is confirmed by the song of 
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura: 

yasya prasadad bhagavat- 
prasado I yasyaprasadan na 
gatih kuto 'pi 

"By the mercy of the spiritu- 
al master one is benedicted by 
the mercy of Krishna. Without 
the grace of the spiritual mas- 
ter, one cannot make any ad- 
vancement."" 

{Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6:7:23, purport, em- 
phasis added) 

In this way we can understand 
that the guru hoax ensures that we 
are spiritually doomed right from 
the beginning. So clearly, under- 
standing and combating the guru 
hoax in all its forms is the singu- 
lar most important activity for an- 
yone wishing to practise Krishna 
consciousness, since without this, 
everything else is rendered mean- 
ingless. Thus, even though all of 
us have had the great fortune due 
to Krishna's mercy to find Srila 
Prabhupada, we must then actu- 
ally make use of such wonderful 
mercy by ensuring we act always 
to only please Srila Prabhupada. 
So let us reject all types of guru 
hoaxes, and instead make our- 
selves worthy recipients for Srila 
Prabhupada's mercy. 

Please feel free to write to 
me at the following address: 
irm@iskconirm.com. 

Thank you and Hare Krishna. 

Yours in the service of Srila 
Prabhupada, 

Krishnakant 



please chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Har 



.ama, Rama Rama, Hare Har 



www.iskconirm.com 



Issue 30 • Winter 2010/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada • Page 3 




Letters to the editor 



EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to a continued overwhelming response, the publication of letters has been running approximately 6 months be- 
hind for quite some time now. We tried previously to run an extra page of letters to clear the backlog, but this was to no avail since as 
the number of our subscribers continues to increase, so do the letters! We humbly beg your patience. 



HHare Krsna Krishnakant Prabhu, 
Enjoying the continued ex- 
posure of the bogus gurus, much 
of which I have personally wit- 
nessed here to one degree or an- 
other, and of course, in my own per- 
sonal sojourn with ISKCON's bo- 
gus "walking monk." Note the link 
to the Vancouver "Chariot Festival" 
homepage, where the same "multi- 
cultural" contamination continues 
to be encouraged here. I stopped 
attending the Rathayatra parades 
here in Vancouver once they began 
including Scottish Bagpipe bands 
and Chinese Dragon dancers - the 
excuse being of course, that we live 
in a multicultural city, so we are try- 
ing to encourage that aspect in or- 
der to attract visitors. Dumbing 
down the message in an effort to 
go "mainstream." Best wishes. All 
Glories to Srila Prabhupada." 
-Tattvadarshan Das, Vancouver, Canada 

(Editor's note: For further examples 
of how Srila Prabhupada's Rathayatra fes- 
tivals have changed, please see our article 
on pages 12-13). 

"/ have read the magazine Back 
To Prabhupada In Dutch. How can 
I thank you, you are doing a great 
job. I am an aspiring devotee and I 
was trying to find my way. This is it. I 
will also join IRM. Srila Prabhupada 
is the only Guru in ISKCON and he 
is guiding me already. Maybe in 
the future I can also help. I speak 
Turkish. Thankyou very much! Hare 
Krsna! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!!" 
- Nurgul Ol, Hilversum, The Netherlands 

"Thank you for the BTP. / just 
finished reading it and I'm happy 
that you are doing this very impor- 
tant service because a lot of devo- 
tees fall down because of this guru 
hoax in ISKCON. We know that Sri 
Krsna is doing it through good dev- 
otees like you. Someone has to do it, 
no waiting for the next generations, 
and Srila Prabhupada has chosen 
you to do it. Unfortunately I'm one 



of the devotee victims of the guru 
hoax. I know that the benefit of 
serving Srila Prabhupada remains 
even if the leaders are unqualified, 
but I think by your grace ISKCON 
will come back to Srila Prabhupada 
as the only siksa and diksa guru for 
the next 9500 years very soon. Sri 
Krsna also wants Srila Prabhupada 
to guide ISKCON through your pre- 
cious help in making the devotees 
more aware of this guru hoax." 

- Sebastian Abate, London, England 

"Your magazine showed me a 
great change in my life. Please con- 
tinue your service. Hare Krishna." 

- K. Raghavendran, Tamil Nadu, India 

"/ always read Back To 
Prabhupada with appreciation and 
adoration. Srila Prabhupada is the 
sole Guru of ISKCON and his bless- 
ings upon you clearly show in your 
endeavour to fight for his cause. 
All the false 'Acaryas' will be van- 
quished like the false 'Vasudeva' 
mentioned in the Srimad- 
Bhagavatam. With due apologies 
to Vaishnavas, I intend to say that 
disobeying a Guru does not make 
one a Vaishnava. Revival of ISKCON 
to its original glory to please Srila 
Prabhupada is the real 'Vyasa 
Puja' offering to him! Jaya Srila 
Prabhupada, the original and gen- 
uine Acharya of ISKCON! All glories 
to Srila Prabhupada." 

- Dr Krishna Prasanna, Karnataka, India 

"Thank you so much for the 
magazines, I have read them over 
and over. We are going back to 
Prabhupada, back to Godhead. I 
wanted an explanation of 'guru- 
tattva' - thank you dear Prabhus, 
very nice. I am involved in IRM be- 
cause I want to know the philoso- 
phy and greatness of Prabhupada. 
He brings us near to Lord Krishna. 
Haribol!" 

- Prabhat Kumar, West Bengal, India 

"Enjoying reading your maga- 
zine. Keep up the good job you are 



doing. Hare Krishna". 

- Praful Patel, Surrey, UK 

"Thank you for your continued 
efforts to bring Srila Prabhupada 
back to his original state as all of 
our Diksa Guru." 

- Jitendriya Das, Michigan, USA 

"/ am very fortunate enough 
to bring myself in relationship with 
IRM, and now I would like to know 
about ISKCON completely." 

- Ami Kumar Agarwal, Siliguri, India 

"It is very nice to hear the truth. 
Keep the philosophy at a high de- 
gree. Srila Prabhupada and his in- 
structions must be followed prop- 
erly." 
-JayanK.V., Kerala, India 

"Hare Krishna Prabhu ji, 
/ am really happy after receiv- 
ing the magazine and this increas- 
es my faith in Srila Prabhupada. I 
request you to keep on sending the 
copy of BTP so that I always remain 
in touch with IRM." 

- Ram Krishna, Jaipur, India 

"/ support IRM. BTP is bring- 
ing back Shri Krishna's message of 
love and devotion as propounded 
by Srila Prabhupada. Chanting of 
Hare Krishna has filled my life with 
hope and liveliness." 

- G.D. Tekale, Milton Keynes, England 

"You are doing a very won- 
derful job in preserving Srila 
Prabhupada's heritage and teach- 
ings from the hands of deviators. 
You are very good in analyzing the 
statements and bringing out the 
correct interpretations. I read The 
Final Order and the BTPs. / am a 
strong supporter of the ritvik sys- 
tem. I would like to get updated on 
the current situation. Hare Krishna! 

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jaya/// 
Your humble servant" 

- Narayana Das, Massachusetts, USA 

"/ will keep on supporting you 
to make a change and bring the 
truth out. Hare Krishna." 

- Jeevraj Ramiah, Klang, Malaysia 



"May Srila Prabhupada and 
Lord Krishna bless you in all your 
endeavors of bringing the devo- 
tees BACK TO PRABHUPADA and re- 
instating Srila Prabhupada back to 
his original position (diksa guru of 
ISKCON). You prabhus have saved 
many people from the clutches of 
bogus ISKCON gurus. Although no 
word is enough to praise this work 
you are doing, all that can be said 
is: Thank you for this wonderful 
service. Yours in the service of Srila 
Prabhupada and Lord Krishna." 

- Sarang Jain, New Delhi, India 

"I think your vision and activ- 
ities are most wonderful. May the 
Lord be more merciful on you all! 
Haribol!" 

- Dr. P.K. Ray, Birmingham, England 

"There should be no chang- 
es to the original ISKCON as Srila 
Prabhupada desired. He is the orig- 
inal Guru." 
-MrsVijayaTuli, Uxbridge, England 

"Your articles are well written, 
stating the truth and well founded 
human values. The world needs the 
Real Hare Krishna teachings." 

- R. Rajasingam, Penang, West Malaysia 

"Thank you for the BTP issue 
#27. Keep 'em coming until the 
Guru hoax is put to rest. Please con- 
tinue your service and All Glories To 
Srila Prabhupada!" 

- Joe Jernigan, Tennessee, USA 

"I'm very much in favour of re- 
viving Srila Prabhupad's ISKCON. 
Having had the privilege to associ- 
ate with a lot of sincere devotees, as 
well as fake power-mongering as- 
uras, / made a decision in the past 
to leave, so I remain sane, and take 
responsibility as a householder." 

- Ramdas, Sumatra, Indonesia 

"Dear Krishnakant ji 
Wonderful work! ISKCON 
should find an amicable solution of 
their differences through the proc- 
ess ofdialoge, logic and Vedic dhar- 
ma and stop wasting time in quar- 
rel since there is a lot of work ahead 
in the world. The movement is not 
in full swing." 

- Dr. DevTewari, Durban, South Africa 



Issue 30 • Winter 2010/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada 



Letters to the editor 



(continued from page 3) 



"Thank you very much for the 
BTP. / read all the articles of the 
magazine with much interest. I do 
learn much in this magazine be- 
cause it covers things I will prob- 
ably never have the chance to 
read. Thank you for your guidance. 
Jaya Shri Krsna! Jaya Jaya Srila 
Prabhupada!" 
- John Brisson, Quebec, Canada 

"Thankyou for another thought 
provoking issue and thankyou once 
again for keeping us informed. This 
is a very valuable service. I very 
much appreciated the articles. I 
am glad you showed how the GBC 
has over the years had to continu- 
ally modify their position. I believe 
that every article is very interesting 
and full of truth. I have enclosed a 
donation to help in the distribution 
of BTP. I am always impressed when 
reading the letters to the editor and 
articles by devotees who have come 
back to Prabhupada. . . I'm always 
impressed with how far reaching 
BTP Is. I remember being one of the 
followers of Srila Prabhupada who 
thought those that made negative 
statements about ISKCON leader- 
ship were only great offenders, and 
I thought IRM was especially unnec- 
essarily harsh until I read The Final 
Order. After all, who could possibly 
think that the entire ISKCON leader- 
ship could be off track? Surely some 
of them would break ranks and 
speak the truth! But this is what is 
so disappointing. ISKCON leader- 
ship has closed ranks and keeping 
their followers in darkness on the is- 
sue of diksa guru and Prabhupada's 
instructions on initiation with very 
few exceptions. And those excep- 
tions have come only after the hard 
pushing of Krishnakant Prabhu's 
The Final Order and BTP. / wish eve- 
ry one of Srila Prabhupada's fol- 
lowers could read a copy and then 
make their own decision of who is 
speaking the truth. It has become 
clear to me that not understand- 
ing what is the meaning of diksa 
guru could have long term negative 
consequences. If someone will not 



speak the truth on the issue ofdiksa 
and Prabhupada's instructions on 
initiation, he will surely be blind- 
ed in other areas of understanding 
and instruction. Please continue to 
remind us of what has happened 
in ISKCON. Thanks so much to you 
and the entire IRM staff for all you 
do. Hare Krishna!" 

- Richard House, Oklahoma, USA 

"/ always look forward to 
reading about Srila Prabhupada 
and his disciples, although it 
makes me sad to sometimes 
see the rift between members of 
what should be a united family." 

- Elizabeth Wittig, London, England 

"/ think you are doing a very im- 
portant work. Keep it up and chant 
and be happy." 

- Jarle Monstad, Kalandseidet, Norway 

"Thank you for your inspiring 
work. My view of ISKCON has been 
tainted for years but your move- 
ment gives me hope!" 

- Joshua P. Geesaman, Pennsylvania, USA 

"IRM has really enlight- 
ened me about the spirituali- 
ty of Prabhupada directly. Guru 
parampara after Prabhupada has 
totally changed the concept there- 
of. It is their personal grudge and 
groupism which is causing this kind 
of debauchery. Thank you. Hare 
Krishna." 

- Souvill Nandy, Kolkata, India 

"Jaya Srila Prabhupada, Hare 
Krishna. Dear Krishnakant, please 
find enclosed a donation to add to 
your program to bring His Divine 
Grace back to the centre of his 
movement. Thankyou for your on- 
going presentation via the maga- 
zine. Yours truly" 

- Ralph Eberlein, Melbourne, Australia 

"GLORIES TO SRI KRISHNA 
PARAMATMA, SRILA PRABHUPADA 
AND GAURA NITAI! I would be 
pleased to know more about 
these BOGUS GURUS who are de- 
faming HIS DIVINE GRACE SRILA 
PRABHUPADA HARE KRISHNA!" 

- Sanjeevi Bharadwaj, Chennai, India 

"Good service!" 

- Klaus Renner, Berlin, Germany 



"Thank you for your nice service 
to the humanity. Hare Krishna! All 
glories to Srila Prabhupada!" 

- Mohini Murti Devi Dasi, Ponteverda, Spain 

"/ am interested to have ISKCON 
across continents be restored to 
Srila Prabhupada's original mas- 
ter plan for distributing Krishna 
Consciousness, freely to one and 
all. Those commercialising the Hare 
Krishna movement must be chas- 
tised by devotee Guru and Lord 
Krishna Himself!" 

- Nitesh Pillai, Bangalore, India 

"God bless you all in IRM. May 
Lord Krishna help us to achieve our 
results for the service of Guru and 
Krishna." 

- H.K. Money, Ontario, Canada 

"Keep up your good work. 
May Lord Krishna bless you all." 

- G. Ramnath, Toronto, Canada 

"Long live H.D.G. Srila 
Prabhupada. Long live IRM 
(ISKCON) Devotees. Long live 
IRM. IT MUST BE DONE IN ISKCON 
AS PRABHUPAD DESIRED. All I can 
add on top of the good work al- 
ready and is still being done by IRM 
is just "waka waka", it's time for IRM. 
I love the way IRM is penetrating the 
"Guru" strongholds. Keep it up." 

- Patrice Waga, Kisumu, Kenya 

"/ really enjoy reading BTP 
which I loaned from my friend. I 
would like to have my own sub- 
scriptions. Keep up the good work 
and Srila Prabhupada will be 
pleased." 

- Marthuranand Das, Verulam, South Africa 

"Go on exposing the corrupt 
and bogus gurus, presidents, GBC 
members and child abusers. Well 
done IRM. Hare Krsna." 

- K.M., Bhagarette, Pietermaritzburg, 
South Africa 

"Yes, it is indeed a great thing to 
read in life." 

- Sonai Arora, Lucknow, India 

"After reading this book I am 
satisfied. Thanks to all of you. Jaya 
Prabhupada, Jaya Gurudev." 

- Rajesh Kumar Debata, Puri, India 

"Just wanted you to know that I 
just received the latest issue of BTP 



and I am enjoying reading it very 
much. For so many years I have 
been reading the books and chant- 
ing alone but feel like I need to 
know more about the WHOLE pic- 
ture. I had no idea that so many of 
Srila Prabhupada's followers/lead- 
ers have fallen the way they have. I 
AGREE very much with the mission 
you are carrying on. I am so glad 
that you are helping all of us to be- 
come enlightened as to what has 
happened since Srila Prabhupada 
left this planet. Thank you for send- 
ing me BTP, / read every issue many 
times. May Krishna bless and keep 
you strong in exposing what is hap- 
pening in ISKCON!" 

- Steve Harvell, North Carolina, USA 

"I took first initiation from 
Jayathirtha and second from 
Bhagavan. I am lost but being sin- 
cere to Srila Prabhupada, I would be 
fortunate to join your movement." 

- Prang Ravi ndranath, Rose Belle, Mauritius 

"These pages bring inspira- 
tion to my Krsna consciousness 
and deeper devotion to His Divine 
Grace, though I am a worthless 
neophyte, lax in my sadhana and 
nearly devoid of bhakti, unwor- 
thy to have association with souls 
so devoted to restoring the Hare 
Krsna movement to the desires of 
the Jagat-guru Srila Prabhupada. 
Please forgive me if I am commit- 
ting an aparadha by saying this but 
despite losing my se va as well as as- 
sociation with devotees here in the 
States, I could not accept someone 
such as HG Candramauli Swami 
as my spiritual master, and believe 
Krsna, by the mercy and grace of 
His pure devotee, has brought the 
ISKCON Revival Movement into my 
life for a purpose I am yet to un- 
derstand. In closing, I pray that 
this letter finds you in the best of 
health and blissfully chanting the 
Holy Names of Lord Krsna, as I also 
pray for all success in restoring Srila 
Prabhupada as the true acarya of 
our Krsna consciousness move- 
ment. Hare Krsna!" 

- Bhakta Timothy Shipley, Wisconsin, USA 



please chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - and be happy! 



www.iskconirm.com 



Issue 30 • Winter 2010/1 1 • BackTo Prabhupada • Page 5 



Quotes, Notes and News (QNN) 



m 



BTP forces cartoon apology 

In response to our article in BTP 28, "Lord Krishna turned into 

cartoon fiction", the ISKCON Bangalore devotees involved in 

making the "Little Krishna" cartoon have issued an apology and 

conceded all the major points made in our article. An analysis of 

their statement can be read at the following website link: 

www.iskconirm.com/docs/webpages/cartoon.html 



IRM book causes Shockwaves 



Nonsense guru hoaxer quotes 

The quotes in the tinted panels 
below are from a lecture given 
on 9/6/2008 by ISKCON guru hoaxer 
HH Bhakti Vikash Swami ("BVKS"). 

Public relations disaster 

"Prabhupada, he was a mov- 
ing public relations disaster for 
ISKCON." 

FACT: The real public relations 
disaster for ISKCON has been the 
guru hoax program, which BVKS 
fully supports and of which he 
is a member, and whose mem- 
bers, as another guru hoaxer HH 
Jayadvaita Swami ("JS") fully ad- 
mits, "have had illicit sexual in- 
tercourse with both women and 
men, and possibly children as 
well." {Where the Ritvik People are Right, 
JS, 1996). 

And as we documented in the 
BTP Special Summary Issue, almost 
50% of the guru hoaxers have had 
some sort of falldown or impropri- 
ety, and that figure only includes 
those which have been made pub- 
lic and not successfully covered up. 

Problem books 

"So Prabhupada, he didn't sub- 
scribe to this political correct- 
ness, which is become in the eyes 
of some members of our move- 
ment, mainly the GBC, a ma- 
jor problem in the modern age. 
Because there are statements in 
Prabhupada's books..." 

As we documented in BTP 27 
(please see "Book changes means 
defeat"), the main person who has 
a problem with the statements 
in Srila Prabhupada's books is 



BVKS himself, so much so that he 
wants them to be changed! Srila 
Prabhupada's statement in the 
Caitanya-caritamrta that "it is best 
not to accept any disciples" ex- 
poses BVKS's guru hoax program, 
and therefore BVKS proposed that 
this statement be changed. 

Another guru hoaxer agrees 

For many years the IRM has 
been attempting to educate the 
GBC that Srila Prabhupada re- 
peating Lord Caitanya's order to 
"become guru" from Caitanya- 
caritamrta, Madhya-Lila, 7:128 
("amara ajanya guru hana"), is not 
evidence that Srila Prabhupada 
authorised every one of his disci- 
ples to become diksha guru suc- 
cessors, as the GBC claim (see their 
position paper Prabhupada's Order 
[1998]). In BTP 28, we quoted at 
least 3 guru hoaxers accepting the 
IRM's position that this order does 
not actually authorise diksha guru 
successors: HH Tamala Krishna 
Goswami, HH Hridyananda Das 
Goswami and HH Partha Sarathi 
Das Goswami. To this list we can 
now add a fourth - HH Bhakti 
Charu Swami ("BCS"): 

Q: "Should we become a guru 
at some stage in order to go back 
to Godhead?" 

BCS: "You may not have the 
stamp of a guru from ISKCON 
saying that you are now au- 
thorised to give diksha and ac- 
cept disciples. However, a dev- 
otee is already a guru. The in- 
struction of Lord Caitanya is to 
practice Krishna Consciousness 
and preach. Amara ajnaya 
guru hoiya tara ei desa. So 




By now, every one of the many thousands of subscribers to BTP will 
have received the first of our book exposes: 700 Contradictions: 
The life and teachings of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami. The 

book has also been mailed to religious scholars, faith leaders and 
academic institutions around the world. 

Via using his own statements, this book constructs a detailed 
"autobiography" of a personality who is considered one of the 
most respected and scholarly amongst the guru hoaxers (indeed, 
even a leading so-called "ritvik" site has an article by him). The book 
graphically proves how one of the supposedly "best" guru hoaxers 
has throughout his life perpetrated a massive hoax by contradicting 
himself and Srila Prabhupada at least 1 00 times, as well as offending 
Srila Prabhupada on every level. It therefore dramatically exposes 
the whole guru hoax via a stunning practical example. Its impact has 
been far-reaching, as epitomised by the following reactions: 

"This book will be devastating for Maharaja and anyone who 
respects him. It must be kept hidden at all costs." 

"I am shocked at what I have read there. This book must be 
made compulsory reading for anyone thinking of accepting an 
ISKCON guru." 

If your copy was not included with your BTP subscription, please 
email us at irm@iskconirm with your name and address, and we 
will send you one. Alternatively, you can write to us at the address 
given on page 2 of this issue, or contact us via our website: www. 
iskconirm.com 



you have to become a guru 
to go back to Godhead." 

(BCS Lecture, 5/10/2008) 

BCS states a devotee is al- 
ready a guru by virtue of Lord 
Caitanya's order to "become 
guru", even though he is not au- 



thorised to be a diksha (initiat- 
ing) guru and accept disciples. 
This means that BCS accepts that 
Lord Caitanya's "become guru" 
order is authorising a non-diksha 
guru, i.e. a slksha (instructing or 
teaching) guru. 



hant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - and be har 



Issue 30 • Winter 201 0/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada 



The real parampara 



The GBC have argued from the 
outset that Srila Prabhupada 
can not act as ISKCON's diksha 
guru since this would violate the 
principle of parampara or disciplic 
succession. This argument is en- 
capsulated by GBC-elected guru 
hoaxer HH Jayadvaita Swami 
("JS"), who writes: 

"That a spiritual master in- 
itiates until his departure and 
then his disciples initiate next 
is the normal system. On this 
we are all in agreement. This is 
what Srila Prabhupada taught 
the entire time he was with us ." 
(Where the Ritvik People are Wrong, 
Jayadvaita Swami, 1996, emphasis added) 

JS states emphatically that not 
only are "all in agreement" with 
the above, but also that this was 
what "Srila Prabhupada taught the 
entire time he was with us", and the 
present ISKCON GBC at least, are 
in such agreement. 

We will demonstrate that the 
GBC's guru hoax system is a mix- 
ture of 4 different systems, with 
each of these systems being a de- 
viation from the principle of the 
disciplic succession as taught ei- 
ther by Srila Prabhupada or the 
GBC themselves. Furthermore, it 
will be demonstrated that only 
by having Srila Prabhupada as 
ISKCON's diksha guru will we have 
a bona fide parampara. 

Competitors, not successors 

The GBC's standard for the 
disciplic succession involves the 
guru initiating "until his depar- 
ture", and then the guru stops ini- 
tiating on his departure so that he 
can then be followed by his disci- 
ples who would initiate next in his 
absence ("then his disciples initi- 
ate next"). 

In this way the disciple "suc- 
ceeds" the guru in initiating. 
However, the guru hoax turns the 
disciplic succession on its head by 
having not a disciplic succession, 
but a disciplic supplementation, 
whereby both the guru and dis- 



ciple initiate at the same time, 

competing with each other for 
disciples! This, therefore, becomes 
not a "guru-disciple parampara", 
but a "guru-disciple-guru parallel". 
Examples of this phenomenon 
within ISKCON's guru hoax are: 

• HH Hridyananda Das 
Goswami and his disciple-guru 
HH Chandramukha Swami. 

• HH Sivarama Swami and his 
disciple-guru HH Mahavishnu 
Goswami* (now deceased). 

*a different Mahavishnu to the one featured in 
BTP 29 

Unlawful succession 

A variation of the GBC system 
occurs when the disciple actual- 
ly does succeed his guru, but the 
succession occurs before the guru 
departs. This not only contradicts 
the GBC standard quoted at the 
outset, which states that the dis- 
ciple only initiates after the guru 
departs, but also the following 
"law of disciplic succession"which 
the GBC quote in their many pa- 
pers on "guru-tattva": 

"But as a matter of etiquette 
it is the custom that during the 
lifetime of your spiritual master 
you bring the prospective disci- 
ples to him, and in his absence 
or disappearance you can ac- 
cept disciples without any limi- 
tation. This is the law of disciplic 
succession." 

(Srila Prabhupada Letter to Tusta Krsna, 
2/12/1975) 

An example of this is practised 
by guru hoaxer HH Jayadvaita 
Swami and his disciple-guru HH 
Kadamba Kanana Swami. 

No disciplic succession 

A number of ISKCON guru 
hoaxers have passed away now 
(7 at the time of going to press - 
Gaura Govinda, Tamala Krishna, 
Sridhara, Bhakti Tirtha, Suhotra, 
Bhakti Svarupa Damodara and 
Purnachandra). Though the GBC 
standard would then call for their 
"disciples to initiate next", and 



thus "continue the disciplic suc- 
cession", this has not occurred in 
a single case where the guru has 
departed, even though it has now 
been some 1 5 years since the first 
ISKCON guru departed. Indeed, 
as we can see in the quote be- 
low, following the departure of 
one such guru, HH Bhakti Tirtha 
Swami ("BTS"), no such succession 
can even possibly occur: 

"Gurudeva did not leave, or 
could he possibly leave a suc- 
cessor." 
(BTS disciples forum, 8/7/2006) 

In this way, the disciplic suc- 
cession "stops", according to the 
GBC's own standard. 

Unauthorised successors 

Other ISKCON gurus have sim- 
ply taken up the position of suc- 
ceeding their guru without any 
authority from their own guru, as 
is the requirement according to 
sasfra (scripture): 

"One should take initiation 
from a bona fide spiritual mas- 
ter coming in the disciplic suc- 
cession, who is authorised by 
his predecessor spiritual mas- 
ter. This is called d/fcso-vidha- 

■am" 

na. 

(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.8.54, purport) 

The example of this is the dis- 
ciples of Srila Prabhupada who 
replaced him as ISKCON's diksha 
guru without Srila Prabhupada 
having authorised them to do so. 
To date, no such guru hoaxer has 
been able to bring forward any 
such "guru succession" order from 
Srila Prabhupada authorising him 
to act as diksha guru in ISKCON. 
Rather, as we have documented 
in BTP, they have taken up such 
a diksha guru position either via 
self-appointment or a GBC vote. 

Real parampara 

We can see that all of these 
types of practices, which consti- 
tute ISKCON's current guru hoax 
system, are deviations from the 
principle of disciplic succession as 



taught by both Srila Prabhupada 
and by the acting GBC Body. The 
current ISKCON guru hoax system 
can be contrasted with the char- 
acteristics of a real parampara as 
stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam 
by Srila Prabhupada: 

"...in order to receive 
the real message of Srimad- 
Bhagavatam one should ap- 
proach the current link, or spir- 
itual master, in the chain of 
disciplic succession." 
{Srimad-Bhagavatam, 2.9.7, purport) 

As long as one is approach- 
ing the current link spiritual mas- 
ter in the chain of disciplic suc- 
cession, we have a real parampara 
or disciplic succession. Such a 
disciplic succession is represent- 
ed currently by the current link, 
Srila Prabhupada, who: 

a) was established as the cur- 
rent link for the disciplic succes- 
sion for all members of ISKCON in 
1966; 

b) has remained in this posi- 
tion ever since, with no order for 
either the succession or termina- 
tion of his current link position; 

and 

c) who is giving us "the real mes- 
sage of the Srimad-Bhagavatam" via 
his voluminous purports, which is 
the only method by which every- 
one in ISKCON receives the mes- 
sage of the Bhagavatam. 

Conclusion 

So the real disciplic succes- 
sion only exists and continues in 
ISKCON with Srila Prabhupada as 
the current link, just as he estab- 
lished and ordered, and does not 
continue via the many deviant 
hodgepodge concoctions that 
the GBC and their 70-odd gurus 
have cooked up. 

So take your pick : 

1) The current link - Srila 
Prabhupada, 

or 

2) The current mess - GBC 
guru hoax. 

The choice is not that difficult! 



please chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Ha. 



www.iskconirm.com 



Issue 30 •Winter 2010/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada • Page 



One foot in the parampara concoction 



q§L 



The acting GBC's treatment of 
its latest "fallen" guru brings 
into sharp focus the absurd con- 
tradictions present in its guru 
hoax program. (We deliberate- 
ly put "fallen" in quotation marks, 
since all of the GBC-approved per- 
sons who are taking the position 
of diksha, or initiating, guru are 
unauthorised and, therefore, spir- 
itually fallen. However, the GBC 
generally considers only those 
who are actually caught breaking 
the 4 regulative principles as be- 
ing fallen). 

The half-guru 

The GBC issued the following 
statement regarding one of their 
voted-in guru hoaxers: 

"It is our duty to inform you 
that Umapati prabhu is no lon- 
ger authorized by the ISKCON 
society to serve as an initiat- 
ing spiritual master and sanny- 
asi within ISKCON [...] Disciples 
and followers who wish to do 
so may continue to consid- 
er Umapati prabhu their spir- 
itual master and continue to 
take guidance from him . [...] 
Umapati prabhu had misused 
his status as a guru to behave 
inappropriately with several 
male disciples over a number 
of years and that this behavior 
was of a sexual nature." 
(GBC Statement, GBC meetings, 2010, em- 
phasis added) 

The statement claims that: 

1) Umapati is so fallen that he 
is not qualified to act as diksha 
guru, or indeed even remain as a 
sannyasi (renunciant). 

2) Umapati is simultaneous- 
ly qualified to continue acting as 
diksha guru to those who are al- 
ready his disciples. 

So he is simultaneously able 
to both not function, and func- 
tion, as a diksha guru! He is a per- 
son who is like a "half-guru", who 
has one foot in the parampara 
(disciplic succession of bona fide 
gurus), and one outside. 



New trend 

This phenomenon of half-gu- 
rus, who are considered to have 
only one foot in the parampara, 
in that they are not qualified to 
be diksha gurus for one class of 
person, but simultaneously com- 
pletely qualified for another class, 
appears to be part of a trend. A 
similar "half-guru" resolution was 
also passed to deal with the offi- 
cial position of Satsvarupa, fol- 
lowing his admission of an affair 
with a married disciple: 

"In consultation with the 
GBC EC, he has agreed to retire 
from initiating; he will not initi- 
ate any more disciples. His pres- 
ent disciples are encouraged to 
go on steadily in their devotion- 
al service to ISKCON and Srila 
Prabhupada, and he will contin- 
ue to offer guidance and care as 
they so desire ". 

(GBC Executive Committee Statement, 
'Concerning Satsvarupa Maharaja', May 11, 
2004, emphasis added) 

So again, he is simultaneously 
both unqualified and qualified to 
act as a diksha guru, depending 
on the persons involved. 

The time-out guru 

The half-guru entity is only 
the latest bizarre concoction foist- 
ed onto the sacred parampara. 
We also have the time-out guru, 
where gurus are deemed unqual- 
ified to be diksha gurus only for a 
limited time, rather like penalty 
time-outs in Ice Hockey. After the 
penalty time-out has been served, 
the guru is invited to once again 
place both of his feet firmly back 
in the parampara. Two examples 
of this were Rohini Suta Das who 
was suspended from being a guru 
for 5 years due to marrying his 
disciple (a relationship which Srila 
Prabhupada compares to incest), 
and Suhotra Swami, who had to 
step down as guru for 2 years due 
to becoming addicted to mun- 
dane videos and novels (see GBC 
Executive Committee Statement 



26/7/2000 and GBC Resolutions 
2001). In the latter case, the pen- 
alty time-out did not suffice, since 
a few years later, the GBC was 
forced to "remove" Suhotra per- 
manently from the parampara. 

The bad guru 

Which brings us to the old- 
fashioned way the GBC used to 
deal with fallen gurus. They would 
permanently kick gurus out from 
the parampara once and for all, 
such as in the case of Harikesa, 
Vipramukhya etc. This method ac- 
cepts that the guru has now be- 
come a "bad guru". This itself rais- 
es the absurd situation of how you 
can have a "bad guru" to begin 
with. Indeed, Srila Prabhupada 
mocks this very idea: 

"And what is a "bad" guru? 
[...] Well, if he is bad, how can 
he become a guru? [Laughter.] 
How can iron become gold? 
Actually, a guru cannot be bad, 
for if someone is bad, he can- 
not be a guru. You cannot say 
"bad guru." That is a contradic- 
tion." 

(Srila Prabhupada, Interview with The 
Times of London, published in TheSdence 
ofSelf-Realization, chapter 2) 

Maybe the attempt to evolve 
"half-gurus" and "time-out gu- 
rus" were attempts to move away 
from the absurd contradictions 
present in having "bad gurus". 
But as we noted, this merely cre- 
ates other absurd contradictions. 
Such as having a guru who is si- 
multaneously both qualified and 
not qualified to act as a diksha 
guru; such as having a guru who 
is simultaneously in and out of the 
parampara at the same time; such 
as having one who can take a "va- 
cation" from the parampara. 

Conclusion 

All these fanciful concoc- 
tions and contradictions reveal 
that there are two types of gu- 




Srila Prabhupada: 

All good, all the time 



rus. First, those spoken of by Srila 
Prabhupada: 

"A bona fide spiritual master is 
in the disciplic succession from 
time eternal, and he does not 
deviate at all from the instruc- 
tions of the Supreme Lord" 
(Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 4.42, purport, orig- 
inal 1972 ed.) 

And, second, those concoct- 
ed by the GBC in their guru labo- 
ratory, where all sorts of different 
creatures are manufactured; crea- 
tures who have been condemned 
as bogus by Srila Prabhupada. 
Hence there is no question of any 
of these GBC gurus ever even hav- 
ing one foot in the parampara 
- for they were never in the 
parampara to begin with! As we 
have mentioned previously, such 
contradiction will naturally result 
when one has fabricated a guru 
hoax, and such nonsense "guru- 
taffva"(guru philosophy) is indic- 
ative of an unauthorised, made- 
up guru program. A spiritually au- 
thorised program is naturally free 
of error and contradiction. Such a 
program existed previously, and it 
exists today. It was established by 
Srila Prabhupada, and it is based 
on having Srila Prabhupada as 
the guru of ISKCON. We, there- 
fore, need to leave the GBC con- 
cocted guru madness behind and 
get back to this sane program. 
In sum, we need to get "Back to 
Prabhupada". 



re Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - and be happy! 



Page 8 • Issue 30 • Winter 2010/11 Back To Prabhupada 



From Belgrade to BTP 




COMING TO 
PRABHUPADA 

By 

Dina-vatsala 

Das 

Nis, Serbia 



I first came into contact with 
Krishna consciousness in 1986 
when a devotee came to my 
apartment to sell mesomeofSrila 
Prabhupada's books. I purchased 
the first and second canto of 
Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad- 
gita, and Krsna Book. They had 
been unpacked for some time and 
then after a while I tried to read 
them. But I could not understand 
them at all. Later on in 1 990 again 
I met a devotee who wanted to 
sell me some books. I told her that 
I already had these books and I 
explained to her that I did not 
understand these books despite 
several attempts to read them. 
She gave me The Science of Self- 
Realization, which I did not have, 
and told me to try reading that. 
I did, and that's how everything 
started, for now I suddenly did un- 
derstand the books! During 1990 
and 1991 I was reading 5-6 hours 
a day, and sometimes even more. 
I simply could not stop reading 
these books and the more I read, 
the more my realization, respect 
and love for Srila Prabhupada de- 
veloped simultaneously. I had 
read Srila Prabhupada stating 
that when a devotee's divine con- 
sciousness begins to wake up by 
the mercy of Lord Krishna every- 
thing takes place so beautifully 
that the devotee does not even 
know how it is happening. And 
I was practically finding that this 
was happening to me. It was mys- 
tical! I could also understand that 
Krishna was speaking through 
Srila Prabhupada, and that he 
must be the dearest servant of 
Lord Krishna to be able to under- 
take and so magnificently accom- 



plish his mission. In this way I be- 
came totally convinced about the 
philosophy of Krishna conscious- 
ness just by reading the books, 
and also began to follow all the 
practices. My family (wife and 3 
children) also followed suit. 

I next wondered where I could 
find devotees or whether they ex- 
isted at that time in Serbia, the 
country I lived in. After some time 
devotees came from the capital, 
Belgrade, to my city of Nis, to per- 
form a music concert. Contact was 
made with them, and my fami- 
ly and I then began to visit the 
Belgrade temple whenever we 
could. In 1 993 I went to India with 
devotees and I was fascinated. 
Whilst there I bought many more 
of Srila Prabhupada's books and 
read as much as I could. During 
this time I was running my own 
taxi business, and since I had a 
nice large vehicle, I was given the 
opportunity to pick up from the 
airport and take to the Belgrade 
temple the many ISKCON gurus 
who would visit Serbia, such as 
Rohini Suta Prabhu, Krishna Ksetra 
Prabhu, Bhakti Vaibhava Swami 
and Bhakti Vikash Swami. This be- 
came a regular service and there- 
fore I got to know the gurus bet- 
ter, and attended the programs 
and lectures that they were giv- 
ing. In 1995 there were sudden- 
ly about 15 devotees in Nis. They 
started to visit our house, since we 
had a small altar with a picture of 
Panca Tattva (Lord Chaitanya and 
His principal associates) where we 
offered food and performed ara- 
ti (worship). In 1996 two of my 
younger children got initiated by 
Rohini Suta, and three days later 
Gaura-Nitai deities graced our al- 




tar. At the end of that year I also 
got initiated, by Harikesa Swami. 
Ironically, my wife and eldest son, 
though they fully accepted the 
process of Krishna consciousness, 
did not like any of the ISKCON gu- 
rus, and therefore resisted taking 
initiation from any of them! 

At this time I also began run- 
ning a regular "Nama-hatta" 
(congregational) program in my 
house. 

After some time I slowly start- 
ed noticing strange things. Even I 
knew most of the answers to the 
questions that devotees were ask- 
ing after the lectures given by the 
ISKCON gurus. At that time audio 
players called "Walkmans" were 
used and all the devotees were lis- 
tening to their gurus' lectures, but 
I noticed that hardly any devotees 
were reading Srila Prabhupada's 
books. It was as if they were writ- 
ten only for their gurus to read 
and not for the devotees. Later I 
realised that even the ISKCON gu- 
rus did not read Srila Prabhupada's 
books in the right way. Another 
thing I noticed was that these gu- 
rus did not come to mangala-ara- 
ti (early morning worship), and 
they did not eat prasadam (sanc- 
tified food) or chant japa (rosary) 
rounds with the devotees. I began 
to wonder how a pure devotee 
of Lord Krishna could be sleep- 
ing during mangala-arati! This 
behaviour was followed by some 
senior devotees and sometimes 
by most of the devotees, mean- 
ing that sometimes only 2-3 dev- 
otees out of 80-100 devotees at- 
tended mangala-arati. With time, 
the standards began to degrade 
even more, and mangala-aratis 
began starting as late as 9 am in 

a » a 



the ISKCON retreats held at Fruska 
Gora in Serbia. The lectures the 
gurus gave seemed to me some- 
how incomplete, and while read- 
ing Srila Prabhupada's books 
made us full of enthusiasm, the 
preaching of the gurus made dev- 
otees sleepy, with devotees open- 
ly sleeping throughout their lec- 
tures. 

Finally the fall of Harikesa 
Swami in 1998 led to the move- 
ment in Serbia becoming severe- 
ly weakened. 

It became clear to me now 
that the ISKCON gurus and the 
GBC were not qualified to do 
what they were doing. I con- 
soled the disappointed devo- 
tees by telling them that only 
Srila Prabhupada is our guru, and 
if we follow the instructions that 
he has given, as explained in his 
books, we can progress spiritually. 
That Srila Prabhupada is the one 
who will take us back home, back 
to Godhead, and not the present 
"gurus". I asked the devotees to 
support me, because this was the 
only way to maintain the Nama- 
hatta. Devotees became sepa- 
rated into different groups, with 
some leaving and some staying. 
In this way we managed to con- 
tinue with our daily programs. 
However at this time, in my mind 
I always had the same question: 
"How could Srila Prabhupada au- 
thorise unqualified devotees to be- 
come 'gurus'?" but I could not find 
the answer. 

Later the NATO bombard- 
ment of Serbia occurred and the 
Belgrade temple closed and dev- 
otees were scattered in all direc- 
tions. During this time myself and 
another devotee, Megadutha Das, 




Dina-vatsala in India A program at Dina-vatsala's home Decorating the home altar 



please chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Ha. 



www.iskconirm.com 



Issue 30 • Winter 201 0/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada • Page 9 



m 



were left alone in Nis, but even 
during the bombardment we 
continued to perform daily arati. 

Later on in Nis things set- 
tled down, and the ISKCON gu- 
rus once again began visiting my 
Nama-hatta program. Since I was 
strongly insisting on reading Srila 
Prabhupada's books and strict- 
ly following the rules and regu- 
lations of sadhana-bhakti (regu- 
lated devotional service) they ac- 
cused me of "frying devotees". 
They of course also objected to 
my claiming that we can take 
shelter of only Srila Prabhupada 
as our guru. The National Council 
that was managing ISKCON in 
Serbia then attempted to try and 
close my Nama-hatta and ban me 
from being in ISKCON. But this 
remained just their unfulfilled 
dream. Rather, by 2003 I myself 
stopped inviting gurus from vis- 
iting the Nama-hatta I was run- 
ning. By Krishna's arrangement 
shortly afterwards, my eldest son 
who had been visiting India, came 
across a Back To Prabhupada mag- 
azine there, and he brought it 
back for us. I had heard about 
the "ritviks" in the 1990s, but we 
had been misled regarding what 
they stood for. Now I was able to 
see for myself what they actual- 
ly claimed, without the via me- 
dium of ISKCON distorting their 
message. However, as I could not 
read English (this article has been 
translated by my son), I was very 
keen to read The Final Order (TFO) 
book when it was translated into 
Serbian, and so I waited patiently 
for this. As soon as I got The Final 
Order I read it very carefully. And 
finally I saw an answer to the ques- 
tion which I mentioned I had had 
for many years, and which had 
also troubled many other devo- 
tees: "How could Srila Prabhupada 
authorise unqualified devotees to 
become 'gurus'?" TFO proved that 
actually Srila Prabhupada had not 
authorised anyone to succeed 
him as diksha guru for ISKCON. I 
saw all the evidence for the estab- 
lishment of the ritvik system and 
everything became so clear for 




Dina-vatsala Das displays the Serbian and English BTP 



me now. I saw that TFO was estab- 
lishing with evidence that which I 
had felt for some time. My dilem- 
mas about unqualified "gurus" 
were now clarified, and with the 
last spark of any doubt dissipated, 
I became very steady and calm in 
my spiritual life. 

Also by coming to know 
about the work of the IRM, and 
how they are fearlessly enlight- 
ening devotees all over the world 
regarding Srila Prabhupada's true 
teachings, I became very happy 
realising that there were a lot of 
devotees who know the truth. I 
began writing to TFO's author and 
BTP editor Krishnakant Prabhu 
and promised not just verbal sup- 
port but other kinds of support, 
and actually I was already do- 
ing that by sending Serbian lan- 
guage BTP magazines to devo- 
tees in Skopje (Macedonia) and 
Zagreb (Croatia). I asked them to 
read it carefully. When I got BTP 
magazine Special Issue 1 & 2 and 
a few copies of TFO in the Serbian 
language, I had sent one Final 
Order book to the ISKCON devo- 
tees in Belgrade. As most ISKCON 
temples now have a special de- 
partment to fight against the rit- 
vik system, the Belgrade devotees 
also had one, even though there is 
no temple there. So they sent one 
devotee to Nis to try and combat 
me. He did not have the courage 
to visit me, but he went instead 
to a young grihasta (household- 
er) couple that occasionally came 
to our small Nama-hatta. He had 
occasion to touch BTP and TFO 
when he was with them, and he 



then went and washed his hands 
straight away to "purify" himself. 
He advised the young couple not 
to read BTP magazine or The Final 
Order book because it is prohibit- 
ed for ISKCON devotees, and that 
if they did, they would make a real 
serious offense to the "lotus feet" 
of ISKCON's "gurus". Such is the ig- 
norance and fanaticism of those 
who oppose Srila Prabhupada. 

In Serbia with its different gu- 
rus and their disciples, I have had 
first-hand experience that the gu- 
rus consider their disciples their 
own personal property, and the 
disciples are loyal only to them 
and nothing else. In this way we 
have as many sampradayas (line- 
ages) in ISKCON as we have "gu- 
rus". How then can there be har- 
mony? Even the Yamadutas 
(agents of Yamaraja, the lord of 
death) know that if there is more 
than one authority for the uni- 
verse, things will not take place 
properly. There is one authority in 
ISKCON but they cannot see him, 
it is Srila Prabhupada. 

Srila Prabhupada said that 
one who follows his instructions 
is his disciple, and one who does 
not follow is not his disciple. By 
this statement ISKCON leaders 
and their followers are not his dis- 
ciples because they have rejected 
Srila Prabhupada's instructions re- 
garding who is the guru of ISKCON 
and so many other things. And 
those who reject the guru's in- 
structions become useless. In this 
way ISKCON is managed by peo- 
ple who do not have knowledge 
and are not his disciples. All IRM 



"This story is written 
for those of pure 
heart as well as for 
those who are misled, 
as I was previously. 
Its purpose is to 
present the truth and 
motivate devotees to 
take shelter of Srila 
Prabhupada, just like 
the IRM is doing." 

magazines and The Final Order re- 
peat this point again and again, 
fully documented with a detailed 
explanation. "Gurus" foolishly and 
stubbornly remain persistent in 
their ignorance, and thus shame 
themselves and ISKCON and Srila 
Prabhupada by denying them- 
selves and the devotees who fol- 
low them, Prabhupada's and 
Krishna's mercy. 

I will continue to help the 
ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) 
in every possible way to spread 
the truth about the guru hoax, 
distributing Back To Prabhupada 
magazines, helping with IRM 
translations for the IRM Serbian 
website, and by personal preach- 
ing. I am also still maintaining 
small regular gatherings for the 
devotees who are in Nis. 

I am grateful to ail IRM devo- 
tees and Krishnakant Prabhu for 
everything they are doing and I 
am offering my humble obeisanc- 
es to them. 

This story is not written in or- 
der to criticize or insult someone. 
It is written for those of pure heart 
as well as for those who are mis- 
led, as I was previously. Its pur- 
pose is to present the truth and 
motivate devotees to take shelter 
of Srila Prabhupada, just like the 
IRM is doing. 

Hare Krishna! All glories to 
Srila Prabhupada! 



Readers are cordially 
invited to follow Dina- 
vatsala Das's example 
by sending us your story 
of just how you came 
'Back to Prabhupada' 



, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - and be happy! 



[nil Page 10 'Issue 30* Winter 2010/11 • Back To Prabhupada 

Srila Prabhupada speaks out on philanthropy 

I n our feature article on pages 1 2-1 3, we give examples of ISKCON's new mission of performing philanthropic acts, such as supporting hospi- 
tals and secular education, which have no connection to the performance of any Krishna conscious activities prescribed by Srila Prabhuapda. 
Many other examples could also have been cited if space allowed, such as building bird boxes and clearing litter from a public park. Such activi- 
ties appear to be undertaken with a view to ISKCON accommodating and becoming part of the "mainstream". As Srila Prabhupada explains below, 
though these activities are certainly virtuous in their own right, they have no connection to the mission of Krishna consciousness which ISKCON 
is supposed to be spreading. 



The actual charitable mission 
of ISKCON 

"ISKCON (the International 
Society of Krishna Consciousness) is 
a non-lucrative organization, whose 
purpose is to promote the well-being 
of human society by drawing its at- 
tention to God." 
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 24/8/1968) 

Bogus ideas 

"People very much appreci- 
ate it when we expand our concep- 
tion of self-interest from bodily wel- 
fare to family welfare, or from fami- 
ly welfare to community welfare, or 
from community welfare to nation- 
al welfare [...] But these are all bo- 
gus ideas, misconceptions." 
(The Quest for Enlightenment, chapter 2} 

Waste of money charity 

"Charity in the mode of good- 
ness is recommended by the scrip- 
tures, but charity in the modes of 
passion and ignorance is not recom- 
mended because it is simply a waste 
of money. Charity should be giv- 
en only to propagate Krishna con- 
sciousness all over the world. That 
is charity in the mode of goodness." 
(Bhagavad-gitaAsltls, 16:1-3, purport) 

Sense gratification 

"If you give some money for 
opening hospital, if you give some 
money for opening schools, free ed- 



ucation. These are certainly virtuous 
activities. But they are also meant for 
sense gratification. Suppose if I give 
in charity for distributing education. 
Then in my next life I will be getting 
good facilities for education, I'll be 
highly educated or being educated I 
shall get nice post. At the end, what 
is the idea? If I get a good post if I get 
a good position, how do I utilize it? 
For sense gratification. [...] That is 
fruitive activities." 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 14/2/1969) 

Not accepted in Bhagavatam 

"This is very important point. 
People are very much interested in 
welfare activities for the human so- 
ciety. So they think that by feeding 
poor men or giving cloth or opening 
hospitals, schools, colleges -"These 
things are required. What is the use 
of hearing about Krishna?" That is 
their opinion. But these welfare ac- 
tivities are extended selfishness. [...] 
Yes. Without knowing what is the 
real self-interest. Therefore we find 
so many faults in such welfare activ- 
ities. [...] So that kind of philanthro- 
py is not accepted in the Srimad- 
Bhagavatam as very advancement 
of civilization." 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 19/10/1972) 

Schools and hospitals not 
devotional service 

"Pious activities bring about 



material opulence, but one cannot 
acquire devotional service by any 
amount of material pious activity, 
not by giving charity, opening big 
hospitals and schools or working 
philanthropically. Devotional ser- 
vice can be attained only by the mer- 
cy of a pure devotee." 
{Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 22.51, 
purport) 

Material embarrassment 

"To open hospital or to open a 
school or similar philanthropic ac- 
tivities are generally being done by 
persons who are embarrassed with 
this mithya* world [...] Because they 
found it better happiness by taking 
in politics and on political move- 
ments or opening school, hospi- 
tals. They found better happiness in 
these activities. Then why the, they 
say that this jagat mithya?* These 
are activities of the material world." 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 9/11/1972) 
'illusory world 

Material pleasure 

'Therefore they take to this hos- 
pitality or opening a school or phil- 
anthropic work, another type of this 
material pleasure." 
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, 5/8/1976) 

Diversion of real duty 

"If you become Krsna conscious 
[...] then all other duties are auto- 



IRM Mission Statement 

Since the physical departure of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada from our material vision 
on November 1 4th 1 977, the International Society For Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the great movement which 
he single-handedly founded in 1 966, and which is the only hope for humanity, has undergone a massive deterioration in 
its spiritual purity. This has been due to various deviations from the instructions and standards given by Srila Prabhupada, 
the chief of which being his displacement as the sole diksha Guru for ISKCON. The ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) seeks 
to restore ISKCON to its former glory, purity and philosophical chastity through the re-institution of all the instructions 
and standards that Srila Prabhupada gave, beginning with his role as the sole authority and diksha Guru for ISKCON. The 
IRM's position is set out in The Final Order - see back page to order your free copy. 



matically done. There is no ques- 
tion of separate attempt — philan- 
thropy, philosophy and nation- 
alism, this "ism," that "ism." We 
have discovered so many things 
and diversion of the real duty." 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 15/1/1977) 

Useless impediment 

"The so-called philanthropy, al- 
truism, humanitarianism, this ism, 
that... Bogus.... Not bogus — useless. 
It will not help. They are pious activ- 
ities. So, Caitanya-caritamrta says, 
pious or impious, both of them are 
impediments to Krsna conscious- 
ness. So we are not interested with 
pious activities or impious even. We 
are interested how to serve Krsna." 
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, 8/1/1977) 

Real philanthropy 

"There are, for the materialis- 
tic person, there are two varieties 
of self-interest. One is concentrated 
interest and other is expanded in- 
terest. [...] They think that I have ex- 
tended my self-interest to my coun- 
try, to my family, I have become a big 
man. And people also give him hon- 
or. This we have practical experience 
but that is extended self-interest. 
That is not actually philanthropy. 
Philanthropy is when one becomes 
interested in Krsna's interest, that is 
real philanthropy." 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 29/10/1976) 




Hare - and be ha 



www.iskconirm.com 



Issue 30 • Winter 201 0/11 • Back To Prabhupada • Page 1 1 



m 



Readers' questions and challenges 



"Don't pull yourself down with 
the poison of BITTERNESS, ANGER 
and lamentation, in this way you 
are in the same behaviour, so as 
you put the blame to the other, 
[...] Start something new now with 
freshness, a new peaceful congre- 
gation in Krishna consciousness [...] 
It's Kali-yuga and nobody can be 
perfect, even you." 
-Joyce van Dulken,The Netherlands 

Editor replies: 

You have written to us point- 
ing out what you believe we are 
doing wrong, and what we must 
do instead, and claiming we are 
full of the "poison of bitterness, 
anger and lamentation". In doing 
so, you would be guilty, according 
to your own argument, of display- 
ing "the same behaviour" since 
"you put the blame to the other" 
(us) and therefore being full of the 
same "poison of bitterness, an- 
ger and lamentation". It can't be 
wrong for the IRM to point out 
someone is wrong (guru hoax- 
ers), but right for you to point out 
someone is wrong (IRM). Such hy- 
pocrisy means your argument is 
defeated by self-contradiction. As 
you note, we live in Kali-yuga, and 
the chief characteristic of this age 
is hypocrisy! 

Additonally: 

1) We are not, nor are we in- 
terested in, starting "something 
new". We are simply attempting 
to revive the original ISKCON as 
established by Srila Prabhupada 
when he was the only diksha guru 
of the movement. It is the GBC 
that has started "something new" 
by replacing Srila Prabhupada 
with an unauthorised and con- 
cocted guru system. 

2) We have never claimed 
that we are perfect, but we do 
claim that Srila Prabhupada is per- 
fect and that he should therefore 
be followed as one's only guru. 

3) Speaking the truth is not 
"poisoned anger and bitterness". 
It's just speaking the truth! 



"[...] this distasteful litera- 
ture...this disgusting news you 
are mailing. If you want to please 
Prabhupada, go out there and 
spread Krishna consciousness in- 
stead of this rubbish. You may re- 
port as you wish, but I do not want 
to be like you, a fly that is attracted 
to rubbish." 
- Dhanesh Amtha, Sandton, South Africa 

Editor replies: 

We completely agree with 
you that some of the news we 
publish is disgusting. For that you 
can blame the GBC, whose state- 
ments we are simply repeating 
verbatim. For example: 

"The GBC has determined, fol- 
lowing a careful investigation, that 
Param Gati Swami recently made 
sexual advances to a male devotee." 
(GBC Executive Committee, 2009) 

"The GBC Executive Committee, 
after much deliberation and con- 
sultation, has no alternative but to 
sadly report the deviations of and 
the abuses to devotees carried out 
by Balabhadra dasa (ACBSP), previ- 
ously known as Bhakti Balabh Puri 
Goswami [...] In the name of 'help- 
ing' two female disciples he per- 
formed many explicit sexual and 
voyeuristic acts by exploiting the 
obedience of his female disciples." 
(GBC Statement, 17/9/2007) 

"Several decades of scandals 
have slashed the perceived value 
of ISKCON's product especially in 
regards to gurus and leadership. 
[...] We have seen gay priests, meg- 
alomania, paedophilia, murder." 
(HH Jayadvaita Swami, ISKCON Studies 
Conference, Italy, 2007) 

However, what is most dis- 
gusting is the fact that Krishna's 
pure devotee Srila Prabhupada 
has been kicked out as the guru 
of his own movement. It is this 
state of affairs which is the real 
"rubbish", and by tolerating such 
a state of affairs, you are allow- 
ing such rubbish to flourish and 
cannot possibly be pleasing Srila 
Prabhupada. 



"Your arguments about 
ISKCON are good and you 
present excellent information 
about the Back To Prabhupada 
movement, but don't you 
think your magazine gets 
a bit repetitive at times? I mean, 
most of your readers know 
what's going on with ISKCON 
and about the guru hoax." 
- Matthew Melnick, New York City, USA 

Editor replies: 

Many of our readers do not 
know about the guru hoax. That's 
why we still get so many letters 
telling us that BTP has opened 
their eyes. Whereas, other readers 
are not yet convinced about the 
guru hoax, and each issue brings 
them closer to the truth, as their 
doubts regarding the conclusions 
presented in BTP gradually get re- 
moved. Plus, we are also getting 
newer readers all the time, with 
new subscriptions coming in on a 
daily basis. 

And those who are already ful- 
ly convinced about the guru hoax 
tell us BTP is still essential read- 
ing as it helps to strengthen their 
faith and they revel in seeing Srila 
Prabhupada defended and glori- 
fied, and those trying to take his 
place defeated and vanquished. 
Additionally, BTP is revealing to 
them so many other truths about 
Srila Prabhupada's actual direc- 
tives for ISKCON, in regards to 
commercialisation, Hinduisation, 
secularisation and so many oth- 
er deviations which are unfortu- 
nately being perpetrated in Srila 
Prabhupada's name. 

Yes, the conclusion that Srila 
Prabhupada is the guru is re- 
peated in BTP - many times. Just 
as Srila Prabhupada's books re- 
peat the conclusion that "Krishna 
is the Supreme Personality of 
Godhead" on virtually every page 
of his books. The stating of spiritu- 
al truths in many different ways is 
very relishing, especially those re- 
lating to Srila Prabhupada. 



"As you are aware, our religion 
is at virtual collapsing point and 
this is the time we all need to work 
carefully to defend the same from 
collapse, but the infighting is go- 
ing to kill the mission again. [...] 
By printing and publishing BTP we 
will lose several thousands or mil- 
lions of newcomers, aspirants and 
wellwishersl! Please think about 
and tell me Prabhu which one is 
better for ISKCON. [...] I hope you 
will not do anything which will not 
please Srila Prabhupada." 
- Vijayakala Das, Doha, Qatar 

Editor replies: 

We are very happy to hear 
that you consider pleasing Srila 
Prabhupada and making him 
happy the goal. In this we are 
both united. 

It is significant that you have ac- 
cepted that we are only telling 
the truth about Srila Prabhupada, 
for it is not possible to make Srila 
Prabhupada happy by telling of- 
fensive lies about him, that he is 
dead and gone and therefore we 
must now find replacement suc- 
cessors to accept as substitutes. 

We can only make Srila 
Prabhupada happy by obeying 
him, glorifying him and by let- 
ting everyone know that he is still 
available as everyone's guru. And 
it was Srila Prabhupada who de- 
creed that everyone in ISKCON 
should become only his initiated 
disciple. 

Therefore, due to these facts 
we are pleasing Srila Prabhupada. 
And by preaching the truth about 
Srila Prabhupada through BTP, 
we are saving the mission from 
spreading lies about him, and 
thereby bringing unity around 
him and thousands of souls to the 
shelter of his lotus feet - as our 
Letters pages attest. 

In this way, we are prevent- 
ing the movement from collapse. 

We welcome all correspondence, 
Email us: irm@iskconirm.com 



hi. i Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and be happyl 



Issue 30 • Winter 201 0/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada 



ISKCON's new mission 



ISKCON's rejection of Srila 
Prabhupada as the movement's 
guru has been accompanied by a 
wholesale abandonment of his 
key teachings in every other ma- 
jor area of operation as well. As 
we document below, ISKCON to- 
day has evolved into a brand new 
movement, barely recognisable 
from the movement founded by 
Srila Prabhupada. 

God 

The Krishna consciousness 
movement, by definition, involves 
exclusive worship and focus on 
God, Krishna. Srila Prabhupada 
states: 

"this Krsna consciousness 
movement simply advocates 
worship of Krsna to the exclu- 
sion of the demigods." 
(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.31.14 purport) 

However, as documented 
in detail in previous BTP issues, 
ISKCON temples are no longer the 
preserve for the exclusive worship 
of Krishna, with the worship of 
demigods now occurring along- 
side the worship of Krishna. This is 
admitted by ISKCON's leadership: 

"Temples once the exclusive 
hold of Gaura-Nitai and Radha- 
Krishna now are dominated by 
murtis* of demigods." 
(HH Jayadvaita Swami, ISKCON Studies 
Conference, Italy, 28/7/2007) 
* sacred statues 

Deity worship 

Even when Krishna is wor- 
shipped in ISKCON temples, non- 
authorised methods have been 
introduced to accommodate pop- 
ular culture: 

"I covered the altar with 
fluffy white cloth that looked 
like snow, and made a big snow- 
man wearing a harinama chadd- 
ar, offering incense and ringing 
a bell," she says. "I even had dev- 
otees make a big reindeer pull- 
ing a sleigh, which was set up 
on the altar so that it looked like 
Radha-Govinda were on it." 



(ISKCON News, 26/12/2009, report on 
ISKCON Ireland) 

We do not find Srila 
Prabhupada authorising reindeer, 
snowmen and Santa Claus's sleigh 
as being part of the deity para- 
phernalia for Radha-Krishna's al- 
tar worship. On the contrary, Srila 
Prabhupada stated that: 

"The Deity worship should 
be done just in the way it was 
carried out in my presence." 
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 13/11/1970) 

"The greatest danger to our 
movement will come when we 
manufacture and create our 
own process for worshiping the 
deities." 
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 4/1/1973) 

Hare Krishna Maha-mantra 

The Hare Krishna Maha- 
mantra is meant exclusively as a 
means of spiritual purification to 
connect us to Krishna. It is nev- 
er considered a mantra meant for 
acquiring material benefits, and 
indeed such a conception is con- 
demned by Srila Prabhupada: 

Hari-sauri: "If you advertise 
the maha-mantra gives some 
material benefit, isn't that an of- 
fense?" 

Srila Prabhupada: "Then 
that is aparadha**!' 

Hari-sauri: "Yes." 

Srila Prabhupada: "That is 
aparadha." 
(Conversation, 2S/2/1 977) 
** offense 

Yet such advertising is in- 
deed done to make the scared 
Hare Krishna maha-mantra more 
appealing to a mainstream audi- 
ence. Below is an example from 
"Veda Lifestyle", which is an offi- 
cial department of the ISKCON 
UK Headquarters, Bhaktivedanata 
Manor: 

"Join us for this relaxing 
Mantra Meditation workshop 
and acquire tools for: 

• Peaceful contemplation 

• Focus and alertness 

• Decreasing stress 




• Reducing anxiety 

• Spiritual experience 

This process is said to myste- 
riously heal the spiritual, physi- 
cal and psychological body." 
(www.krishnatemple.com/home / www. 
vedalifestyle.co.uk, archived December 
2010) 

Publishing 

Alongside the Hare Krishna 
Maha-mantra, Srila Prabhupada's 
ISKCON movement was based 
on the exclusive printing and dis- 
tribution of his teachings, in the 
form of his books. This is no longer 
so, with The Bhaktivedanta Book 
Trust (BBT) routinely publish- 
ing and distributing non-Bhak- 
tivedanta books, in which Srila 
Prabhupada's radical message is 
watered-down. And, as report- 
ed in 67P 28, the BBT is now even 
planning to expand into publish- 
ing fiction! Additonally, many of 
the ISKCON guru hoaxers are also 
pushing the distribution of their 
own books in competition with 
Srila Prabhupada's books. To get 
an idea of the effect of just how 
much Srila Prabhupada's books 
are being displaced in his own 
movement, we may note, for ex- 
ample, that the "Bhaktivedanta 
Library Services" is dedicated pri- 
marily to non-"Bhaktivedanta" 
services, with 2/3rds of its stock 
from authors other than Srila 
Prabhupada. 



Preaching 

An ISKCON leader admits 
that the movement's approach to 
preaching is the opposite of that 
taught by Srila Prabhupada: 

"The decision was made that 
deity worship must be maintained 
but that the preaching would 
be reduced. The problem is that 
this is exactly opposite of what 
Prabhupada wanted. [...] We find 
ourselves relying on a congrega- 
tion [of Indian Hindus] who desire 
nice deities so they can worship. 
They give money so we have to 
satisfy their desires. We are not ex- 
actly employees but in many ways 
that is true. We have given up our 
autonomy and independence and 
become uninterested in preach- 
ing. The risk is that the temples will 
be transformed into third-class 
mundane institutions because of 
the exclusive focus on deity wor- 
ship rather than preaching." 
(GBC representative and ISKCON guru quot- 
ed in Hare Krishna Transformed, Burke E. 
Rochford, NYU Press, 2007) 

One striking example of 
the "new ISKCON's" de-empha- 
sis on preaching comes from HH 
Radhanatha Swami, who is one 
of the most heavily promoted gu- 
rus today in ISKCON. On national 
US television he stated: 

"And we believe that chant- 
ing divine sound vibrations or 
mantras helps us to awaken and 
access that source of love that's 




El 



www.iskconirm.com 



Issue 30 • Winter 201 0/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada • Page 1 3 




within all of us." 

(HH Radhantaha Swami, Fox TV News in- 
terview, Seattle, 16/8/2010) 

Yet he refused to mention 
even what that mantra is, or 
for that matter, even the name 
of Krishna or Srila Prabhupada 
throughout the whole interview! 
It has come to something when 
the "Hare Krishnas"are becoming 
afraid to say "Hare Krishna!" One 
may compare such statements to 
the bold preaching performed by 
Srila Prabhupada in his media in- 
terviews. 

Philanthropy 

To appear mainstream, ISKCON 
is active today in a whole host 
of various philanthropic causes 
which have no connection to any 
Krishna conscious activities pre- 
scribed by Srila Prabhupada. One 
example clearly illustrates this: 

"The Lotus Trust, the welfare 
arm of Bhaktivedanta Manor 
Hare Krishna Temple raised 
thousands for local charities, 
including the Great Ormond 
Street Hospital during a Charity 
Walk on Sunday 18th July." 
(ISKCON UK website, 20/7/2010) 

Again, such activities are con- 
demned by Srila Prabhupada: 

"Therefore the so-called good 
men of this world, who are en- 
gaged in so many welfare activities, 
humanitarian activities, by mental 
concoction, they may be all foolish 
activities in the estimation of the 
Supreme Personality of Godhead. 
They are very much puffed up, that 
"We are doing this, opening hospi- 
tal and school, and philanthropism, 
nationalism."ls there any such thing 
in the Bhagavad-gita? Is there any 
advice that "You open hospital, 
school and do this philanthropic 
work"? No." 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture. 3/8/1973) 

Education 

With a view to being recog- 
nised and "accredited" by the 
State, ISKCON has largely aban- 
doned its gurukula system of ed- 
ucation, in favour of various ini- 
tiatives which promote secu- 



lar education. These range from 
offering the government cur- 
riculum to degrees in sub- 
jects that are not based on Srila 
Prabhupada's teachings, such 
as the "Yoga Master BA" provid- 
ed by the Bhaktivedanta College 
run by ISKCON Budapest. Yet Srila 
Prabhupada did not advocate ac- 
commodation with the state in re- 
gards to education: 

"We haven't got to take 
any help from the govern- 
ment by getting so-called ac- 
creditation. If outsiders want 
to send their children to us, it 
will not be for their accredita- 
tion, but because they will get 
the best education for reliev- 
ing them of all anxieties of ma- 
terial life and for this education 
the government has no idea." 
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 7/3/1972) 

"Government curriculum is 
useless." 
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, 24/6/1 977) 

"Our school will not be gov- 
ernment recognized because 
we cannot follow the govern- 
ment syllabus." 
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 12/4/1972) 

Gopala Krsna: "I was think- 
ing, Srila Prabhupada, we should 
get this gurukula accepted by the 
government also..." 

Srila Prabhupada: "No, no, 
no. Never do that." 
(Conversation, 25/1 0/1 972) 

Festivals 

In its attempt to be more ap- 
pealing to the public, ISKCON fes- 
tivals are now more akin to visiting 
a carnival or circus. For example, 
please see pictures above of the 
circus and gymnastics "yoga" "en- 
tertainment" laid on by the organ- 
isers of the Budapest Rathayatra. 
These activities have no con- 
nection to Lord Jagannatha be- 
ing taken in procession with kir- 
tana (glorification of the Lord's 
names with musical instruments), 
which is how Srila Prabhupada 
established Rathayatra to be cel- 
ebrated. The expansion of Lord 
Jagannatha's festival into hodge 
podge "entertainment" activi- 



ties which have no connection 
with Lord Jagannatha is now a 
common occurrence at ISKCON 
Rathayatras. 

Identity 

It is only apt, that having tak- 
en on a new mission which has no 
connection to Srila Prabhupada's 
original ISKCON, today's ISKCON 
should also be attempting 
to adopt a new identity. Srila 
Prabhupada made strenuous ef- 
forts to educate the public that 
ISKCON and Krishna conscious- 
ness is separate and distinct from 
the"Hindu" identity: 

"There is a misconception 
that the Krishna conscious- 
ness movement represents the 
Hindu religion. [...]Sometimes 
Indians both inside and out- 
side of India think that we 
are preaching the Hindu reli- 
gion, but actually we are not. 
One will not find the word 
Hindu in the Bhagavad-gita" 
(The Sdence of Self -Realization, chapter 3, 
'Krsna Consciousness') 

Ironically, now the reverse 
process is taking place, whereby 
ISKCON is actually attempting to 
take shelter under the umbrella of 
Hindu identity, rather than distin- 
guishing itself from it. 

Academic confirmation 

Academics whom ISKCON has 
specifically invited to study the 
movement, provide independ- 
ent confirmation of the fact that 
ISKCON has completely diluted 
its spiritual purity to launch effec- 
tively what is a new movement, 
different from that established by 



Srila Prabhupada: 

"In a state of decline, 
the leadership turned away 
from the movement's rad- 
ical goals and lifestyle and 
focused instead on build- 
ing congregations of Indian 
Hindus in its temple commu- 
nities. [...] Indian Hindus re- 
shaped ISKCON's religious cul- 
ture and overall mission as 
a new religious movement." 
(Burke Rochford, Hare Krishna Transformed, 
NYU Press, 2007) 

"Attempts to distinguish 
ISKCON as a universal religion 
from "Hinduism" still occu- 
py the thoughts of some dev- 
otees, but ISKCON leadership 
has long since distanced it- 
self from the robust exclusiv- 
ist theology of 40 years ago." 
(Anna King, The Hare Krishna Movement, 
I.B.Tauris, chapter 8, 2006) 

The "robust exclusivist theolo- 
gy of 40 years ago" of course refers 
to the teachings of the movement 
as given by Srila Prabhupada. 

Conclusion 

Having left Srila Prabhupada 
behind, ISKCON's leadership has 
naturally also left behind Srila 
Prabhupada's movement and 
teachings, with top to bottom 
deviation in every sphere. Such 
wholesale deviation is the natural 
consequence of the desire to take 
the place of Srila Prabhupada: 

"Our mission is to serve (...) 
Not that you take the place of 
the guru. That is nonsense, very 
dangerous. Then everything 
will be spoiled ." 
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, 20/4/1 977) 



hna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - and be happy! 



Page 14 • Issue 30 'Winter 2010/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada 



4-step plan for guru hoax survival revealed 



In the last issue we revealed, 
with video footage, how vi- 
olence and death threats were 
used at the Hungarian Budapest 
Rathayatra festival against IRM 
devotees to prevent ISKCON dev- 
otees receiving the truth about 
Srila Prabhupada. A follow-up 
meeting was conducted be- 
tween guru hoaxer HH Sivarama 
Swami ("SRS"), the leader of the 
Hungarian yatra (preaching mis- 
sion), and some of SRS's man- 
agers in Hungary to discuss the 
fallout from our presence at the 
Rathayatra. The transcript of this 
meeting reveals the guru hoax- 
ers' strategy for ensuring ISKCON 
devotees are kept in the dark, and 
hence, the guru hoax's surviv- 
al from exposure by the IRM. This 
strategy is based on the following 
4 steps - 

1. Hide 

2. Mislead 

3. Lie 

4. Distract 

- as we will now reveal. All 
quotes below, unless other- 
wise indicated, are from a meet- 
ing held in Budapest, Hungary 
on 14/10/2010. The meeting was 
conducted in Hungarian and, 
therefore, we provide the English 
translation here. 

Step 1: Hide 

SRS: "Yes that is not a Hungarian 
thing. Someone has told me, 
they (the IRM) were following the 
Rathayatra, because they were 
there in France too." 
Hungarian Devotee Is "They 
were foreigners and they have 
been chased away". 
Hungarian Devotee 2: "There 
was an Indian, and I met two 
English as well." 

SRS: "Yes, I can imagine they are 
trying... But our main protection 
is after Krishna and the reality, is 
the language here. This Hungarian 
language has protected devotees 
from many things so far. Only the 
Chinese language is harder than 



this in the whole world... (laugh- 
ter). There was Braja, but he is not 
actively doing things until some- 
one comes who can speak and 
translate things nicely. This is a se- 
rious obstacle, and we hope it will 
remain like this." 

SRS fully admits that their 
plan is to keep the devotees in 
the dark by hoping our papers will 
not be translated into Hungarian! 
(Incidentally, the above transcript 
was provided by the devotee men- 
tioned - Braja - and we have trans- 
lated dozens of IRM articles and 
papers onto a Hungarian IRM web- 
site - www.iskconirm.com/Magyar. 
htm - so we are not as inactive as 
he thinks!). Of course, such a "hide" 
strategy is only possible outside 
of the English-speaking world. In 
the English-speaking world, as we 
have previously reported in BTP, 
other measures, such as temple 
bannings, are used to deal with 
devotees who may make the mis- 
take of discovering the truth. 

Step 2: Mislead 

Hungarian Devotee 1: "There is 
also one pamphlet we have giv- 
en out to devotees two years ago, 
when this ritvik thing came out. 
That was a 44 pages paper we dis- 
tributed to all devotees." 
SRS: "Oh yes, that contained ma- 
terials, we picked from different 
places. I think the Plain Vanilla 
book was in that also. So even- 
tually, I don't think I have to con- 
vince someone here, to not be- 
come a ritvik. (Laughter) [...] We 
also have to educate them, be- 
cause the best protection is al- 
ways the education, just like be- 
fore this whole ritvik came, I spoke 
to devotees about it long before, 
that is why we printed this book 
Plain Vanilla" 

The publications SRS speaks 
about were answered long ago, 
and exposed as not actually even 
addressing what the IRM's position 



is (as can be seen by going to our 
website www.iskconirm.com) and, 
therefore, are not relevant to the 
debate. By using such publications, 
SRS is deliberately misleading, rath- 
er than educating, the devotees. 

Step 3: Lie 

SRS: "This is not the matter, rath- 
er, we have to communicate that, 
because their philosophy is with- 
out any basis, and unprecedent- 
ed, their only way to preach is to 
destroy people's faith in ISKCON 
by quoting what bad things hap- 
pened in ISKCON." 

When our position is presented 
by the guru hoaxers, only blatant lies 
are offered. Leaving aside the fact 
that our philosophy is simply repeat- 
ing verbatim Srila Prabhupada's di- 
rect orders without change, our phi- 
losophy is that everyone can have a 
relationship with Srila Prabhupada 
in the same manner SRS did - get- 
ting initiated without ever hav- 
ing had any physical contact with 
Srila Prabhupada. Why doesn't SRS 
honestly say that our philosophy is 
therefore actually based on what 
he did?! And the "bad things" we 
do mention are repeated verbatim 
from the GBC's public news releases, 
so why doesn't SRS therefore claim 
that it is the GBC which is destroying 
people's faith in ISKCON? 

Note that the last 2 steps may 
work only if they are combined with 
the first all -important step of ensur- 
ing the truth is always hidden from 
the devotees, and in this way the 
guru hoaxers can get away with any 
misleading and lies they wish to per- 
petrate. 

Step 4: Distract 

"when you approach a guru, you 
should see, uh, see his behaviour, 
and if you see this founder of the 
apa-sampradaya, this Krishnakant 
Desai. I mean he's, it's a joke. He 
doesn't have any spiritual life." 
(Bhakti Vikash Swami ("BVKS"), voted-in 
guru hoaxer, Lecture 9/6/2008) 




Finally, when one can no lon- 
ger hide the truth from the devo- 
tees, one has to resort to attack- 
ing the person presenting the 
truth, as an evasive tactic. This is a 
logical fallacy known as argumen- 
tum ad hominem, and is engaged 
in precisely when the merits of 
what is being presented cannot 
be challenged. Leave aside the 
fact that BVKS seems to have for- 
gotten that it is he, and not I, who 
claims to be a self-realised guru, 
and that he has never seen my be- 
haviour to be able to comment on 
my spiritual life. Even if such per- 
sonal attacks were truthful, they 
could still not disprove the fact 
that Srila Prabhupada ordered a 
ritvik system and not guru succes- 
sors. If the guru hoaxers could ac- 
tually defeat the statements I was 
presenting, they would not need 
to resort to attacking me person- 
ally as a substitute for their inabil- 
ity to defeat them. 

Conclusion 

The use of such survival tactics 
proves that the guru hoax relies 
on deception rather than truth for 
its existence. The hoaxers have no 
choice but to resort to such tac- 
tics, since one cannot challenge 
what the IRM is actually present- 
ing head-on, as the truth, by defi- 
nition, cannot be challenged. 



please chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and be happy! 



www.iskconirm.com 



Issue 30 • Winter 201 0/1 1 • Back To Prabhupada • Page 1 5 



3 times means: "no more denial" and "final" 



m 



Srila Prabhupada makes it clear 
that a conclusion stated at 
least 3 times can not be denied, 
but rather it is irrevocably and ir- 
refutably established as final: 

"3 times means giving too 
much stress. [...1 That means no 
more denial . Finish all stress. So 
as soon as one thing is 3 times 
stressed, that means final ." 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 27/11/1968) 

However, ISKCON continues 
to remain in denial over some ba- 
sic conclusions which have clearly 
been established at least 3 times. 



Diksha gurus not ordered 



STRIKE 1: 

Bhavananda: "There will be 
men, I know. There will be men 
who want to try and pose them- 
selves as guru." 

Tamala Krsna: "That was 
going on many years ago. Your 
Godbrothers were thinking like 
that. Madhava Maharaja..." 

Bhavananda: "Oh, yes. Oh, 
ready to jump." 

Srila Prabhupada: "Very 
strong management required and 
vigilant observation." 
(Conversation, 27/5/77) 

Srila Prabhupada states that 
anyone trying to become guru 
in ISKCON should be stopped 
through "strong management 
and vigilant observation". Clearly, 
therefore, Srila Prabhupada was 
not intending on the very next 
day to order ritviks (officiating 
priests) who would become dik- 
sha (initiating) gurus on his depar- 
ture, as the GBC claims! (GBC reso- 
lution 409, 2004, please see BTP4). 

STRIKE 2: 

Satsvarupa: "Then our next 
question concerns initiations in 
the future, particularly at that 
time when you're no longer with 
us. We want to know how first 



and second initiation would be 
conducted." 

Prabhupada: "Yes. I shall rec- 
ommend some of you. After this 
is settled up, I shall recommend 
some of you to act as officiating 
acaryas. 

Tamala Krsna: "Is that called 
rtvik-acaryal" 

Prabhupada: "Rtvik, yes." 
(Conversation, May 28 th , 1977) 

STRIKE 3: 

Satsvarupa: "So they may 
also be considered your disciples." 

Prabhupada: "Yes, they are 
disciples. Why consider? Who?" 
(Conversation, May 28*, 1977) 

Confirming in two further 
ways, the point made under Strike 
1, in the conversation held the 
next day, Srila Prabhupada states: 

a) He will appoint ritviks, not 
diksha gurus, to conduct initia- 
tions for "particularly at that time" 
that he will be "no longer with us". 

b) Those whom the ritviks will 
initiate will be his disciples. 

So there can be "no more de- 
nial"and it's "final"thatrifwte were 
not ordered to turn into diksha 
gurus." 



FINAL: 

Ritvik system permanent, 

not temporary 



STRIKE 1: 

"Srila Prabhupada indicat- 
ed that soon He would appoint 
some of His senior disciples to act 
as "/7ff/7c"-representative of the 
acarya, for the purpose of per- 
forming initiations, both first initi- 
ation and second initiation." 
(July 9 ,h directive, 1977) 

STRIKE 2: 

"Make your own field and con- 
tinue to become ritvik and act on 
my behalf." 

(Srila Prabhupada Letter to ritvik 
Hamsadutta, 31/7/1977) 



STRIKE 3: 

"The system of management 
will continue as it is now and 
there is no need of any change." 
(Srila Prabhupada's Last Will and Codicil) 

It is stated in 3 different ways 
that the ritvik system established 
by Srila Prabhupada is to be per- 
manent rather than being discon- 
tinued on his departure: 

a) The system is meant to ful- 
fil the permanent purpose of con- 
ducting first and second initia- 
tions. 

b) A ritvik should continue to 
act in this capacity. 

c) After Srila Prabhupada's de- 
parture, the system of manage- 
ment for ISKCON, which includes 
how initiations are managed, 
must continue without change. 
So there can be "no more denial" 
and it's "final" that the ritvik sys- 
tem was not to be discontinued, 
just 120 days (Srila Prabhupada's 
departure) after it was estab- 
lished. 



FINAL: 

"Become guru" does not 

mean diksha guru 



STRIKE 1: 

"Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu 
...Yare dekha tare kaha 'krsna'- 
upadesa: "You become guru. No 
qualification required." 
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, 25/1/77) 

STRIKE 2: 

"Yare dekha tare kaha 'krsna'-- 
bas. So who cannot do it? Anyone 
can do it, even a child, (laughs) 
Our Syamasundara's daughter. 
She was preaching, "Do you know 
Krsna?"[...] Everyone can become 
guru by simply teaching these 3 
words." 
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, 25/1/77) 

STRIKE 3: 

"The cult of Sri Caitanya 
Mahaprabhu is explained here 



very nicely. [...] It is best not to 
accept any disciples." 
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 
7:128, 7:130, purport) 

In 3 different ways, Srila 
Prabhupada makes it clear that 
his use of Lord Caitanya's order to 
"become guru", does not refer to 
diksha gurus, since: 

a) One does not require any 
qualification. 

b) Anyone can do it, even a 
child. 

c) One should not take any 
disciples. 

All 3 points are in stark con- 
trast to a diksha guru: 

a) Who must be qualified. 

b) Only those authorised can 
act as such. 

c) Must accept disciples. 

So again, this conclusion, that 
"become guru" does not author- 
ise "diksha gurus", is established as 
"final", and there can be "no more 
denial" regarding this point. 

Conclusion 

1) Srila Prabhupada did not 
order 1 1 ritviks to stop acting as 
ritviks and instead turn into dik- 
sha gurus. 

2) The ritvik system was a per- 
manent, not temporary, system. 

3) The order to "become guru" 
does not refer to diksha gurus. 

Each of the above conclu- 
sions has been proven 3 times, 
and establishes the same point 
- that Srila Prabhupada remains 
ISKCON's diksha guru. And this 
point is itself proven 3 times! How 
more "final" can it be?! 

Even materialistic govern- 
ments understand that "3 times 
means final" - in the USA they 
have a "3 strikes and you are out" 
policy for criminals who commit 3 
crimes. Yet our supposedly "self- 
realised" ISKCON gurus and their 
supposedly "vaisnava" followers 
still do not understand this simple 
teaching from Srila Prabhupada. 



please chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - and be happy! 



ftjffigj 



s Dogus sannyasis - 

by ISKCON's sannyasa minister! 



SKCON sannyasis are supposed to be renunciants who, by definition, have given up all material desires and attachments, 
and this has led to most of them going on, as standard, to become diksha, or initiating, gurus. However, below, ISKCON's 
sannyasa minister, HH Prahladananda Swami ("PAS"), reveals the true state of ISKCON's sannyasa program. 



ISKCON sannyasis - excessively attached 

"The first sannyasi he gave, from my perspective - Kirtanananda Maharaja. It wasn't inspired by Prabhupada, it was more inspired by I 
Kirtanananda. Similarly after that, Prabhupada gave sannyasa under circumstances where the managers seemed to be very attached, J 
excessively attached, even disturbed the Society in different ways. And Prabhupada gave them sannyasa and sent them off to preach. 
And then, he gave them, although they created further disturbances, Prabhupada eventually engaged them in the preaching." 

(PAS, Q&A, 1/8/2001) 



ISKCON sannyasis - instigated guru hoax 

And then Prabhupada of course he left, and then many of the sannyasis, who were at that time GBC members, they came up with some ideas I 
which were not exactly in Prabhupada's mind.Thev became gurus and they had a certain conception that if you're a guru whatever you do is right- 
rather than because everything you do is right, therefore you're a guru." (PAS, Q&A, 1/8/2001) 



ISKCON sannyasis - same problem today 



"But the same problems are undoubtedly there still. Sannyasa and women, sannyasa and material opulence, sannyasa and prestige, 
adoration, distinction - don't go very well together. The same weakness is there as long as the GBC is not strong enough to actually | 
properly regulate the different preachers in the Society." (PAS, Q&A, 1/8/2001) 

ISKCON guru system instills opposite qualities to those required 

"But even more than sannyasa is guru [...] if one becomes a.guru then disciples think that 'my spiritual master is as good as God'. So 
much favourable service and flattery. So things are exactly the opposite of what the devotee's trying to cultivate." ( PAS, Q&A, 1/8/2001) 



Srila Prabhupada puts an end to ISKCON sannyasis for good 



"This should be strictly outlawed, no more sannyasis . [...] First of all there will be no sannyasi anymore ." (Srila Prabhupada Conversation, 7/1/1 977) 






, 






HH Prahladananda 
Swami chopping ISKCON's 
sannyasis down to size 



Srila Prabhupada puts 
an end to all bogus 
sannyasis and gurus 



The solution to all this ISKCON guru 
confusion is clearly explained in the 
book "The Final Order". 

To receive a FREE copy, please 
email us at: irm@iskconirm.com 

or fill out the enclosed reply card 

or write to our address 
given on page 2. 



Tllfjf 



ord ER 




.*r2s&£ 



tH**" 






,(•<"«"' 



/ 



BOOK THE GB 



"I hope this book will be read 
carefully and discussed widely because 
the profound issues it raises demand 
consideration at all levels. Every devotee 
has a real stake in the matter." 

From the Foreword by Professor 
Kim Knott, Head of Religious Studies, 
Leeds University, UK